Don't Stop
by MercuryMoon
Summary: Don't Stop is Greed's challenge to Envy in their final battle. Dante also does some reflecting on her own actions.


Disclaimer: Full Metal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa. I have simply taken the liberty of guessing what happened to the homunculi during this period of time.

**Don't Stop**

The flame of a dying candle flickered in an otherwise dark room. Its pure white wax melted down the stand and onto the desk it stood on. Water dripped from the ceiling, plinking somberly, and there were cracks on the painted wall. Shadows danced eerily on the wall, reflecting the irregularities of the candle and its absurd existence. A slouched figure sat at the creaking, wooden desk as night passed over him.

Images of a woman flashed before his closed eyes. _Her _again. She had been haunting him ever since he had left. Even though he had already died once, his past memories had been revoked in him. He remembered now how her smooth brown hair had felt like silk in his large, shapely hands. He remembered how warm her body had been when he had hugged her close to him as he inhaled her lilac scent. Those days had been the happiest of his otherwise tormented life. He could almost remember her sweet smile that appeared only when he was around. He had felt loved, needed. But now..

Her rich maroon dress swirled in the candle flame as she danced solo, and her laughing grey eyes seemed to be mocking him. Her shining hair glistened in the light and flashed in the flame. His hands slowly clenched. As the movie continued to unravel, a deep sigh escaped from his parted lips.

A breeze entered the room as the door slowly opened, and a lithe, muscular young man appeared. He was clothed completely in black, and his thick hair appeared even darker than normal as it hung all around his face. His feet were bare, and fingerless gloves were on his hands. "Greed," the newcomer sneered. "What are you doing up so late?"

Greed didn't move. His spiked hair seemed to droop a little, and the fur on the neck of his black vest ruffled a little. "Envy," he said simply. "How nice of you to drop by."

Envy sidled up to the younger homunculi and placed one slender hand on the desk. "I heard you managed to regain some of your past memories." Greed nodded slightly, and Envy continued. "What do you intend to do about them?"

"Leave," Greed said in a monotone voice. "I am sick of it all."

Envy laughed. "Leave? Just like that? You know Dante is going to kill you for that, or even seal you away."

The sound of his love's name recharged him. "I'm not afraid of that!" With a burst of his old, fiery spirit, his lips split into a gruesome grin. "Your group doesn't offer me enough. I want more than just death and blood!" He raised his arms questioningly. "What reason do I have for staying? Don't stop, tell me!"

A cruel smile spread across Envy's face. "You seek your death by leaving. **I** will personally seal you away then."

"Better to be sealed away than be a puppet here!" Greed snarled. "I won't have Dante pulling my strings! I won't be her puppet!"

Envy laughed mirthlessly. "You've made your choice then."

"And it was me who made that choice," Greed shot back. "I follow my own orders, not that of some damn woman."

Envy's face contorted. "I do not follow her orders!"

"What have you done on your own since you've fallen under her wing?" Greed demanded. "Walked around? Maybe take a breath of air?"

Envy shot forward with lightning speed and seized Greed by the throat. "I have something I'm working toward, Greed, and I'm not about to let you ruin it!"

Greed wrapped his fingers around Envy's hand and forcefully removed it from his throat. "You'll follow the orders of some, some seductress?" he spat out. "I thought we were going to be together forever. I let her kill me only because I thought she wanted to grant me the same kind of immortality she has." Greed laughed cynically. "But did she? No!"

Envy rubbed his hand, his eyebrow cocked. "See, this is why I hate humans. They're so naïve and hopeful it just makes me sick. And," he continued as the pupils of his cat eyes narrowed, "they drop you at the first chance they get. But anyway, enough talk. I'm here to do my job, not to reminisce with deserters like you."

Greed grinned wildly. "Good, I'm up for a fight, too." His eyes widened and his black glasses slipped off as he crouched and shifted into his natural form. Greed's muscular hands turned claw-like and his flesh darkened all over into black diamond. His hair was sucked into his scalp and his lipless mouth smiled again, revealing his triangular teeth. "Come and get me," he said hoarsely.

Envy bent down, and his right hand shifted into a sharp, glistening blade. "It's my pleasure."

The two homunculi circled each other, sizing up each other's strengths and weaknesses. Then they leaped at each other, their shadows dancing together on the wall as they clashed in one final battle.

x x x x x

A young woman stood in the darkness, her head bowed and hair shielding her face from the world. She was Dante, the one gathering the homunculi. She longed for much and could have little. The Sins under her control represented her sins manifested.

Envy for her envy of her former lover, Hohenheim of Light. He who had been stronger than her, the one who had protected her in the past. Now he had left, and she envied him for the strength he had in leaving. By leaving, he was forsaking everything they had done together and freeing himself of the trap of the Philosopher's Stone. He had asked her to leave with him, but she had been weak, unable to comply.

There was Lust, her lust for love, to be held. That was why she had ensnared human Greed into her trap. He had been young, naïve, willing to love a woman he barely knew. The slender, dark-haired young girl who was Lust represented to Dante her desire to be held and embraced, an ache to be loved almost.

Dante hugged herself. She was too greedy and was going to pay for it one day. She had wanted love and had sought out the first single man she could find. Then she had seduced him and made him want to make love to her. She was greedy because she wanted to live longer than her allotted time on this earth. She was greedy because when she had been lonely, she longed for companions and had thus created some so she would no longer be alone.

Slowly Dante let go of herself. When she had sent Envy after Greed, she had hoped that he would be able to bring him back. It was true that the thing she cared most about was creating the Philosopher's Stone, but she wanted a companion, too. She wanted the young man who had once never left her side, who had been courteous and had willing obliged to be killed so he could be with her for all eternity, never once suspecting that she had played with his feelings and lied to him. Guilt welled up inside the woman, and she wondered just how much of herself she was willing to give up in order to continue living.

But then she shrugged off that feeling almost immediately. She _would_ create the Philosopher's Stone and she would be strong enough to do so without anyone to help her. She had done it in the past, when she had created Lust. She didn't need Greed or anyone else to be there for her. She could support herself. She would show Hohenheim that she didn't need him anymore.

Dante brushed off the tear that threatened to fall from her ice blue eyes. Another day. She could cry another day. She didn't care if she was lying to herself.

x x x x x

There was a dark flash of hate welling up in the air, and Envy's arm transformed into a steel spear that he plunged into Greed's black diamond body. It refused to go through however, and Envy's expression contorted. "Damn you!" he screamed.

Greed laughed. "There's a reason why I'm the Ultimate Shield, Envy!" The black homunculus swept an arm forward and seized Envy's arm. "You're going to have to try harder than that," he said pleasantly.

Envy patiently took Greed's arm and forcefully unwrapped Greed's fingers from his arm. "I don't care," he responded in a coy voice. "As long as I seal you." Faster than the blink of an eye, Envy transformed his steel arm to black diamond and pierced through Greed's chest. The other homunculus began to cough up red stones as Envy reached even further up and twisted his arm. "Now what do you think?" the older homunculus asked.

"I'll be back!" Greed managed to choke out. "Envy, I'll be back for revenge!"

Dante's face, the face of his old lover, filled his head. Her steel grey eyes softened for a moment as she returned his gaze. As he fell, a deep sense of satisfaction suddenly filled him. He felt alive again. _Don't stop_, he thought as his eyes began to close. _Don't stop..._

Dante opened her eyes. He was gone, sealed away. A mirthless echo echoed throughout the chamber. So he, just like Hohenheim, had left her. He had seen through her real self and despised her. And suddenly, she found that she didn't care anymore. If he wanted to be that way, she would just create another one.

A smile grew on her cold face. Yes, she would create another homunculus to replace treacherous Greed.

* * *

Abrupt ending, but whatever. Greed or Dante were never my specialities. I may go through and do some editing another day, but this is done for now. Leave a review if you wish! xD


End file.
